{"id":451310,"date":"2026-02-01T09:07:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T09:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451310\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T09:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T09:07:27","slug":"why-ai-will-make-tech-more-expensive-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451310\/","title":{"rendered":"Why AI Will Make Tech More Expensive in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sick of hearing about how AI is changing everything? Well, have I got some bad news for you. In 2026, AI seems poised to find its way into every conversation, even if you\u2019ve decided to stop using ChatGPT and ignore every news story on the subject. As gadget reviewers, the Popular Mechanics tech team is bracing for an AI-induced storm in 2026<\/a>, in the form of rising prices that make our favorite gadgets<\/a> harder to get and more expensive to upgrade.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the issue: Since last year, the rapid expansion of AI companies like OpenAI (maker of ChatGPT) and Anthropic (maker of Claude) have created huge demand for PC components like graphics processing units (GPUs), memory (RAM), and solid-state storage hard drives (SSDs<\/a>). The demand is so great<\/a> that the manufacturers of these components are diverting manufacturing<\/a> resources away from making components for other things.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a problem, as all three are essentials for a wide range of devices. Initially, the crunch primarily impacted gamers and digital creatives looking to build or upgrade high-powered desktop PCs<\/a>. But, as the crunch intensifies, there\u2019s a real chance that we may see price hikes across the tech world, from TVs<\/a> to home appliances<\/a>. If you know you need a new device or appliance soon, it might be wise to buy it soon, before it becomes much, much more expensive<\/p>\n

Why Prices Are Going Up<\/p>\n

The generative AI tools that everyone on the planet seems to love tinkering with require an obscene amount of resources to operate at global scale. When you punch in a query to ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity, the heavy lifting is done on remote computer servers owned by the AI brands, not your computer or phone.<\/p>\n

To keep up with the demand, the major players in AI are building more and more data centers, huge complexes to house all of their servers, and they require an amount of compute power that would\u2019ve been considered science fiction not too long ago. Consider this CNBC story<\/a> from December, 2025, which calls the pace of data center construction a $61 billion frenzy.<\/p>\n

To expand and compete, AI companies are buying all the RAM and GPU they can. And with the massive investment inside these companies, they\u2019re able to buy it more quickly than RAM and GPU manufacturers can produce the parts. As these manufacturers shift production to prioritize the powerful RAM and GPUs that AI companies require, they\u2019re deprioritizing production of the older, more pedestrian components that are still the mainstay of most home appliances, electronic devices, and automobiles.<\/p>\n

When stock dwindles, prices rise: Component manufacturers raised prices on RAM by 50 percent last year<\/a>, and prices are predicted to go up again<\/a> another 40 to 55 percent in the first quarter of 2026. While it\u2019s unlikely that the increases you see in other consumer products will quite that high overnight, early predictions suggest that the bump will be significant.<\/p>\n

For example, Nothing\u2019s CEO Carl Pei said, in a January 13, 2026 post on X.com<\/a>, that prices for smartphones could rise by up to 30 percent. Bloomberg called it a crisis<\/a> for Apple, HP, and other companies that market personal electronics. Industry analysis firm TrendForce called price increases on TVs unavoidable<\/a>, as well, although the TV industry hasn\u2019t yet hinted at specific figures. Something\u2019s got to give, and that something just might be your bank account.<\/p>\n

This is Going to Impact Everything, Not Just PCs<\/p>\n

This component crunch rapidly became a big problem for gamers in 2025, but it\u2019s likely going to impact a lot more people in the next year. Here\u2019s the thing: Almost everything electronic these days has a computer chip in it. From smart home tech in washing machines<\/a> and refrigerators<\/a> with LED displays, to Bluetooth-enabled alarm clocks<\/a> and ultra-smart toilets that scan your stool<\/a> to spot potential health issues, the breadth of products that need some kind of processor and\/or memory is quite vast. Most new cars have a display in the dash, too.<\/p>\n

While the threat looms large, similar shortages constrained tech manufacturing before. RAM and GPU shortages in previous years tended to worry those buying or building new computers. Hardly anybody else paid much attention. Consumers got a taste of how such shortages could cascade into other industries in 2020, when a worldwide chip shortage<\/a> began to constrain the automobile industry.<\/p>\n

Still, the coming production issues seem to be larger than what we\u2019ve seen before. The rapid growth of AI is unprecedented, so it makes sense that the side effects will be similarly immense. Samsung Co-CEO TM Roh, who oversees the brand\u2019s mobile phone, TV, and home appliances businesses, gave a stark warning to Reuters<\/a> earlier this month: \u201cAs this situation is unprecedented, no company is immune to its impact,\u201d Roh said. He also warned that the crisis doesn\u2019t just affect mobile phones, but also TVs and home appliances.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did not rule out raising product prices,\u201d wrote Reuters, \u201csaying some impact was \u2018inevitable\u2019 from a surge in memory chip prices,\u201d adding that Samsung is \u201cworking with partners on longer term strategies to minimise the impact.\u201d That gives a hint that Samsung sees the RAM and GPU shortages are more than just a momentary blip. The company may be preparing for the issues to last for a while. Certainly for months, and maybe even years.<\/p>\n

Dell COO and Vice Chairman Jeff Clarke echoed the same warning on a November, 2025, earnings call: \u201cWe\u2019re in a very unique time. It\u2019s unprecedented,\u201d Clarke said<\/a>. \u201cWe have not seen costs move at the rate that we\u2019ve seen. And by the way, it\u2019s not unique to DRAM. It\u2019s NAND [another type of memory]. It is hard drives, leading edge nodes across the semiconductor network.\u201d Clarke has been at Dell since 1987, if that puts the current shortage in perspective for you.<\/p>\n

What Does This Mean For Shoppers?<\/p>\n

Your knee-jerk reaction to this information may be to run out and start hoarding new tech before prices start to rise. I would urge caution here: If you make a major purchase prematurely, before you\u2019d ordinarily be ready to buy or if you don\u2019t really need to buy, then you\u2019re not really saving yourself money. Still, it may be wise to make any essential home purchases sooner rather than later. \u201cConsumers can expect to pay significantly higher prices for laptops, mobile phones, wearables, and \u2060gaming devices very soon,\u201d said Tobey Gonnerman, president of semiconductor distributor Fusion Worldwide, as reported<\/a> by Reuters on January 22, 2026. Industry analyst firm Trendforce noted Dell and Lenovo hiking PC prices 15 to 20 percent in December 2025 and January 2026, respectively, because of the component crunch.<\/p>\n

If you wait until you start to see prices rising, you may also find it\u2019s difficult to even track down what you\u2019re buying. Remember: Prices are increasing because of high demand, so there will also be stock shortages. It\u2019s also possible that prices will change without any warning, aside from the cryptic messages from CEOs we\u2019ve already gotten.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a tech lover, or someone who\u2019s been holding out on buying some new gear and may need it soon, this may be a tough year. It\u2019s still the start of the year, so this is a really good time to plan out your tech-related upgrade projects and figure out what and when you\u2019re going to upgrade this year.
<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Are Some of The Devices That May Be Impacted By The Component Crunch\"QM8K<\/a>TCL QM8K QD-Mini LED TV<\/p>\n

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\"ROG<\/a>Asus ROG Strix G16 Gaming Laptop\"UltraFresh<\/a>GE UltraFresh Smart 4.8-Cubic-Foot Front-Load Washer<\/p>\n

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\"Bespoke<\/a>Samsung Bespoke 23 cu ft. Counter-Depth French 4-Door Refrigerator with AI Hybrid Cooling<\/p>\n

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\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Matt Jancer has been in the industry for 15 years and lives in his favorite urban death maze, New York City. He\u2019s traded words for money on behalf of more than 15 magazines. Some of his longest-running bylines were spent covering cars, motorcycles, outdoors gear, health and fitness for Car and Driver, Outside, Esquire, Smithsonian, Playboy and Wired. When he\u2019s not writing about motorcycles and our place in the wilderness for a living, he\u2019s writing for enjoyment, riding his motorcycle, and mountain climbing out West. He believes everyone needs at least one hobby they have none of their ego invested into, and so guitar noises and cooking smells have been known to emanate from his apartment. Oh yeah, and he thinks pigeons are way underrated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sick of hearing about how AI is changing everything? Well, have I got some bad news for you.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,233247,70023,233245,430,433,2387,233244,233246,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-451310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-collection-smart-tech","14":"tag-content-type-deals-shopping-news","15":"tag-contentid-7b0b8a08-1093-43cf-89b3-8ac25667de02","16":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","17":"tag-hasproduct-true","18":"tag-locale-us","19":"tag-shorttitle-why-ai-will-make-tech-more-expensive-in-2026","20":"tag-subsection-gear","21":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}